Episode 6 of Extraordinary Faith – Miami Part 1 of 2 – was televised on EWTN this morning, September 27, 2015 at 6:00 AM. Insufficient advanced notice of the airing was given to us by the network to give notice in this column beforehand, but rebroadcasts are likely in the future; few slots were available this month due to the necessity of coverage of the Holy Father’s visit to the U.S. As with all episodes, Episode 6 will be made available for viewing on our web site, www.extraordinaryfaith.tv, one month after its debut on EWTN.

Episode 6 begins with a visit to downtown Miami’s historic Gesu Church. Miami is a relatively new city compared with Detroit, thus few historic churches exist. Gesu is Miami’s equivalent of Detroit’s Old St. Mary’s: Centrally located, artistically ornate and well-preserved, and offering Confessions every weekday from 8:45 AM – 5:00 PM. Gesu, pictured below, also hosts numerous special occasion Tridentine Masses throughout the year, for Holy Days and special feasts.

This writer remembers a time when the only Extraordinary Form Mass in Miami was held in the most humble of settings, a classroom at a local college. Fr. Joseph Fishwick, pictured below, the recently-retired long-time chaplain of the Miami Latin Mass Community, was the celebrant back then and relates the story of the community’s growth into the thriving entity it is today, now based at the Mission of Ss. Francis & Clare.

Have you ever considered what happens to the sacred art that gets discarded when churches close or renovate? Some is distributed to other churches. Some ends up in the hands of church supply warehouses. Much gets destroyed or rots away. Fr. José Luis Menendez of Miami’s Corpus Christi Parish decided to do something about this. He raised funds to construct a combination chapel/museum, in which a staff restores sacred art that he finds and rescues, much of it from Central America. We tour this facility, the Museum-Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy, and learn how Fr. Menendez developed his passion for saving traditional art.

An increasing number of bishops throughout the world are learning the Extraordinary Form. Most celebrate Pontifical Low Masses or Missa Cantatas. A select few have undertaken learning the far more complicated Pontifical Solemn Mass, which involves an array of assisting ministers. Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski is one of those brave shepherds, and he explains to us how he came to celebrate this elaborate liturgy. He also shares a touching story of how an acquaintance had a profoundly spiritual experience attending her first Extraordinary Form Mass while on a tour to China.

We’ll keep you updated with dates of rebroadcast of this episode, and we’ll remind you when you can view it on-line.

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for September 27, 2015. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]